ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Drought-hit Mississippi River reveals 19th-century trading ship

The MIssissippi River at Memphis, Tennessee, where it is at its third-lowest on record. (Bailey White/CNN)
The MIssissippi River at Memphis, Tennessee, where it is at its third-lowest on record. (Bailey White/CNN)
Share

A Baton Rouge, Louisiana, resident hunting for artifacts in the Mississippi River was amazed to find the wreck of a 19th-century ship in the drought-stricken waterway, CNN affiliate WBRZ reports.

Severe drought across the Midwest has shrunk the Mississippi to record lows, with more than 40 river gauges in the river basin reporting low water levels, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Baton Rouge resident Patrick Ford told WBRZ that he had been out observing the river's receding waters for weeks but the discovery of a ship was unexpected.

"This past Sunday I was out here looking and realized the rest of the shore had washed away and there was an entire ship there," he told the station. "I immediately texted friends and was like, 'Holy moly, I think I found a ship, a sunken ship!'"

Ford then contacted experts and news of his find reached Mississippi's state archaeologist Chip McGimsey, WBRZ reported.

McGimsey told the station that the remains of the ship had been known about for some time. The wreck was believed to be that of the Brookhill, a trading ship that had been built in 1896 in Indiana, he said.

McGimsey said the Brookhill had a sister ship, the Istrouma. The Istrouma was the day ferry across the river, he said, while the Brookhill did the night run.

"On September 29 of 1915, there was a major storm ... both ships sank," he told WBRZ, with logs crashing into the Brookhill. McGimsey said the shipwreck was within 100 feet of where the ferry landing had been.

McGimsey said an archaeological firm had carried out some research on the wreck when it was exposed 30 years ago.

In 1992, "they did some limited investigations and could look at very small pieces -- basically sort of one or two foot wide parts of it -- to try to get an understanding of how it was constructed and how old it was," he said. "At that time, it was not nearly as exposed as it is now. It was still largely buried in mud and they had to do a lot of digging to even see little pieces of it."

The archaeologist said that 90 per cent of the ship's remaining hull was now exposed and would be studied to add to renderings of how it was believed to have been built.

"For the most part, there are not good documents on boat building, especially once you get back into the area of wooden ships," McGimsey told WBRZ. "They have a lot of individuality in these boats, and there are so few of them remaining. This is a rare example of one from around 1900."

Ford also encouraged people to keep exploring. "Explore your surroundings -- get to know where you live, what's around beyond just what's in front of you. Take a walk, see what's out there," he said.

The U.S. Drought Monitor says that more than 55% of the contiguous United States -- an area that is home to more than 133 million people -- is in drought.

With the Climate Prediction Center forecasting below-average rainfall through at least October 23, river scavengers like Ford may continue to uncover long-submerged treasure.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Top Hezbollah commander among 12 killed in Israeli strike on Beirut

Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander and several members of the group's elite Radwan unit in an airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday, the Israeli military and a security source in Lebanon said, sharply escalating the year-long conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed group.

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

Local Spotlight

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.